ron1945
Established
hi i have recently aquired a petri 7s does anyone know if the meter can be adjusted ? it seems about 2stops out thanks ron
charjohncarter
Veteran
I have one of these cameras, it is especially easy to operate. My meter has never been off, so I haven't looked into it. I hope someone with experience in Selenium cells jumps in here. My feeling is that part of the cell is dead. The other thing you could do is adjust your ISO to accommodate.
ron1945
Established
thanks ill, do that i just bought it cos it was very cheap anyway but quite minty as they say on the dreaded bay
fidget
Lemon magnet
I've got a Petri 7s, it's meter is good and very usable. But, I have found on all my older cameras with selenium cells which are failing, is that it's not as simple as adding or dropping a couple of stops. It seems to me that the meter/cell has gone non-linear, so that say it may be one stop out in overcast conditions and three out in bright light. Can't win on any of them....
btgc
Veteran
yes, it's not linear...buying those selenium-metered cameras watch if they come with lens cap or case - this could be sign of lively cell. Of course if cap/case weren't added in this century to double/triple price of camera
I inherited my dad's Petri 7s... there was a choice of lenses for these when new; either f/2.8 or f/1.8, and a kit consisting of wide and "tele" adapters with a matching viewfinder. Mine has the leather case and original lens cap but as mentioned the meter is now non-linear. It responds to light but not in a useful way. The camera works fine regardless, and the lens is very good.
It may be possible to replace the selenium cell, though perhaps tricky to cut one to fit given the toroid shape. I had a new selenium cell fitted to a Contax IIIa by Steve Serota at CameraCare.com. He has a source of the materials ($45 for the small cell for the Contax), and might be worth contacting if you're determined to have a fresh working meter.
It may be possible to replace the selenium cell, though perhaps tricky to cut one to fit given the toroid shape. I had a new selenium cell fitted to a Contax IIIa by Steve Serota at CameraCare.com. He has a source of the materials ($45 for the small cell for the Contax), and might be worth contacting if you're determined to have a fresh working meter.
btgc
Veteran
Doug, I'd stick to handheld more current meter. I haven't got new cameras with selenium cells and don't know how fine they were in dim light when new, but judging from what I see, they don't have sensitivity to meter dim.
But I understand value of camera for you so don't take my words as trying to turn you off. What lens yours have got, btw ?
But I understand value of camera for you so don't take my words as trying to turn you off. What lens yours have got, btw ?
FallisPhoto
Veteran
If your selenium cell is failing, you are not going to be able to get away with just adjusting the meter. Your meter demands a certain voltage and without it, it won't work right. You need a new photocell, with the correct (or slightly higher) voltage, and then you can recalibrate the meter. If you have more voltage from the new cell, this can be corrected for with resistors, but if you don't have enough, there isn't really anything that can be done to correct it short of replacing the cell. If there is enough room under the top cap, you can try this fix: http://www.xs4all.nl/~tomtiger/zenrep/meter.html
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ron1945
Established
petri7s
petri7s
i i dont think my capabilitys are up to your suggested reoair so its a hand held meter im afraid. but thanks for the reply best reguards ron
petri7s
i i dont think my capabilitys are up to your suggested reoair so its a hand held meter im afraid. but thanks for the reply best reguards ron
Yes, I was willing to put $45 into the Contax IIIa to refresh its selenium meter cell, but I suspect it would be much more expensive to replace the one surrounding the Petri 7s lens. I'm not so dedicated to bringing it back to like-new condition!
Mine has the f/1.8 lens... probably the best part of the camera.
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FallisPhoto
Veteran
I don't know if you could fit a calculator's much smaller but rectangular photocell around that curved lens anyway.
FallisPhoto
Veteran
On ebay, "minty" means anything that hasn't quite reached the stage where it hss rusted out to the point where it looks like brown lace, no more than half the leather has fallen off, the fungus has not quite reached the stage where it has eaten holes entirely through the glass and it is only missing a few parts (usually including the rear lens element). If it has gone past any of these stages, it is "in good condition." If the seller says it "is in good condition for its age," you have to figure it has either been run over by a truck or someone has "repaired it" with the aid of a 4-pound engineer's hammer.
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ron1945
Established
chapt.1 verse 1 my minty
chapt.1 verse 1 my minty
looks pretty good;works pretty good, has memory problems,a bit like me if you leave out the first two parts of the verse Amen !
chapt.1 verse 1 my minty
looks pretty good;works pretty good, has memory problems,a bit like me if you leave out the first two parts of the verse Amen !
Mattikk
Well-known
I just bought one of these with the f2.8 today at the flea market for 10 euros (actually three cameras for 30 euros as sweathog wanted the other two)!
I'm excited as this is my first film & rf camera. I got my first roll halfway through and I think it's very simply to use as I now noticed that there's a meter inside the finder too.
I'm probably going to shoot the rest of the roll today and get it developed.
I'm excited as this is my first film & rf camera. I got my first roll halfway through and I think it's very simply to use as I now noticed that there's a meter inside the finder too.
I'm probably going to shoot the rest of the roll today and get it developed.
btgc
Veteran
Funny thing about Petri 7s is that for me seems it has two separate meters - one on top and second to display in finder. On mine readings from both aren't same. While single projected reading is more logical, there's chance that one from those on 7s is more closer to handheld meter than other....need to check.
Mattikk
Well-known
btcq, what do you mean? I just checked and the meter on top and inside the finder give the same result.
Funny thing I noticed that I can't use the lens hood from my Nikon, not because it wouldn't fit, but because it gets in to the focusing area.
Funny thing I noticed that I can't use the lens hood from my Nikon, not because it wouldn't fit, but because it gets in to the focusing area.
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btgc
Veteran
I mean...that mine 7s shows different readings...worn, abused ? Lucky you
Uh, I were happy to get 54mm metal (in fact, 5.4cm as Petri says) slip-on hood which fits 7s, even if I got it mainly for another camera. Some cylinder-shaped like those standard hoods from heavystar could work well - I like them because they don't block RF nor VF.
hkida
Newbie
I think it is a matter of time that all selenium meters will fail, even leicameters. So it is best to get a separate handheld meter. I have used a Sekonic 308 for some 20 years. I did send it back to the factory for checking and calibration once every 2 or 3 years and it is still very accurate. And once got used to incident light reading I used reflected light reading only very rarely.
Mattikk
Well-known
Oh sorry, I didn't see you were talking about your camera. My reading comprehension isn't the best sometimes. Hehe.I mean...that mine 7s shows different readings...worn, abused ? Lucky you
Uh, I were happy to get 54mm metal (in fact, 5.4cm as Petri says) slip-on hood which fits 7s, even if I got it mainly for another camera. Some cylinder-shaped like those standard hoods from heavystar could work well - I like them because they don't block RF nor VF.
Well, I'm not sure if it needs a hood that much anyways.
What I do need is a filter that dims the sunlight a bit on the brighter days (because the smallest aperature is only 16 and if I buy a lower ASA film, I can't zone focus when I'm not in the sunlight, but behind a building or something.
I do have a circ-pol filter, but I usually keep it on my nikon lenses, so is there any recommendations that I should buy for my Petri, or just another circ-pol? Luckily the filter thread is the same 52mm, which I have on four of my nikkor lenses, so I'm guessing I should buy something other, that I could use with the other lenses too.
btgc
Veteran
Mattikk, that top 1/500th is problem with old cameras and ND seems to be filter to have. Circ-pol may work kind of tricky because level of "eaten light" varies from setup of filter, ND blocks constant amount of light.
But sure it's worth to try CPL, especially if meter on yours 7s is close to real - I guess that it will read more or less true value. I will try this with mine CPL, too.
While front element of f2.8 lens is rather recessed in lens barrel, I'll speculate hood on older cameras is a thing which
rather adds than takes away. If it's not terribly wrong kind of hood.
But sure it's worth to try CPL, especially if meter on yours 7s is close to real - I guess that it will read more or less true value. I will try this with mine CPL, too.
While front element of f2.8 lens is rather recessed in lens barrel, I'll speculate hood on older cameras is a thing which
rather adds than takes away. If it's not terribly wrong kind of hood.